There are any number of recreational games being played today either at home or on television. Exemplary of the art: U.S. Pat. No. No. 4,678,188, which is a question and answer game particularly adapted for a restaurant. A cube which can be held in the hand, has side surfaces each of which contains questions. On the top of the cube is a pointer with a surface below broken up into quadrants. Where the pointer stops after a spin, determines which person corresponding to a particular side surface is to answer the questions. On each side surface there is a narrow slot that acts as a window. Slidably adjacent the side surface and behind the slot is a card that contains answers to the questions on the side surface. When the card is moved up or down, answers to the particular question can be seen through the slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,678 is concerned with providing an electronic game playing device with an animated character and synthesized voice. A base for the character is like a stage and houses electronic components and a grid of indicator lights plus a touch switch pad of 32 squares and individual player buttons, Animation of different features of the character are powered by a single motor. As shown in the flow chart, input from player buttons are communicated to a microprocessor through a header. The 32 switches of the touch pad input to the microprocessor through another header. At the start players are requested to indicate by depressing the appropriate number of buttons how many players there are.
Then the players identify themselves by initials or other means by pressing down on the appropriate letters of the touch pad. An automatic routine asks the players what game they want to play. Game modules could also be plugged in to increase the number or types of games played. Letter Z represents a taped game that also can be selected. One of the games contained in the program is a guess the letter and eventually the game broadens to include an entire phrase such as a famous phrase.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,976 teaches an apparatus and method for learning about relationships and personalities among a group of participants. A plurality of players utilizes tokens on a board in combination with a plurality of color cubes, scoring sticks, secret answer wheels and question cards in one embodiment of the invention. Scoring and movement of the tokens is controlled by the roll of the dice and the players' knowledge of each other as revealed by the secret answering of questions related to the present and future feelings of the designated players. Scoring is achieved by insertion of relationship sticks into color cubes located on the tokens. The color personalities of the participants are reflected in each participant's sequential choice of color cubes for that participant's token. Therefore the choice affects the content questions to be asked and answered. There is a correlation between these selected questions and answers and the personality of the participant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,736 is a question and answer game with a board in which pieces move onto spaces of a board and each space describes the action to be taken. The board contains multiple spaces in which a concert platform playing piece moves for each player from a start box to a final stage. Each space contains instructions which may include selecting a challenge or a rescue card. The rescue card provides a means for escaping various predicaments and the challenge cards ask questions which if answered correctly provide a bonus, but if answered incorrectly a monetary penalty. A pair of dice determines the number of spaces moved at each player's turn. Each player can obtain band member to be inserted on their playing piece. The band members are worth $50,000 each at the conclusion of each game when each player arrives at the final stage. Each player is provided with a supply of playing money. The object of the game is to become the headline act on the final stage by moving through various spaces on the board and recalling and announcing names of musical artists. The player with the most cash is declared the winner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,818 is a game that can be played in the parlor or on TV. The game provides a plurality of distinct arbitrarily selectible information units, each of which is divided into two independently viewable sub-units. The first sub-unit has a visual representation of a different recognizable object and the second sub-unit is a visual representation of the identity of that object and questions and answers regarding the object. Means are provided for selection of a particular question by the player and for accumulating the player's score by proper answers to the questions. In the TV game, a quiz master will pick the top card from a deck and will hold up the card for the first person on his left to identify. If successful the player gets 5 points, goes on to roll the dice, answers further questions and accumulates more points. If the player fails to identify the famous person on the card, the opportunity passes to the next player in a clockwise direction with points increasing by 5 each time a player fails to identify the famous person until a successful identification is made. If all players fail the quizmaster reveals the name and the card goes to the bottom of the deck. In the parlor game form the units comprise two sided cards, the first side displaying a photograph of an object and the second side the identity of the object and a plurality of questions and answers about the object.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,904 is directed to a board game having a continuous path with a plurality of categories indicated by various spaces within the path with each category directed to various procedures such as a pantomime, response to a trivia question, perform a charade or lose a turn. Limited times are available for response to each category wherein a card deck includes each category thereon for a performance by an individual or a team. A die member directs progression of the game. As indicated by the exemplary prior art, question and answer games have become very popular. Such games provide entertainment as well as furnish TV audiences with plenty of excitement. The games vary from board games wherein advances are made along a board in response to throwing of a die to a simple cube containing questions and answers located on each side thereof to an electronic game playing device having an animated character with a synthesized voice as host.
Most of the existing games have some educational value with a monetary award or simulated monetary award being given to the winner as determined by the number of correct answers, although a game has been designed to while away the time until service is received in a restaurant or another game has been created to gain psychological insight into peoples' personality.